King Tutankhamun's Footstool

Primary Reference: Ashmolean Museum

Below are Howard Carter’s remarks:

No. 378. Footstool (of Faldstool No. 351)

POSITION:

Wedged between bedstead No. 377 and shields No. 379, south end of

chamber.

DIMENSIONS:

58.7 x 32.0 x 7.7 cms.

DESCRIPTION:

Made of a (?) wood and veneered with ebony, ivory, faience, glass

and natural stone (semi-translucent calcite) ornament. The dresses of the captive gilt and chased with ornament. The heads, faces and exposed parts of the bodies & limbs of the Asiatic captives of a dark-brown wood (? cedar); their headdresses of ebony. In contradistinction the exposed parts of the Negroid types, their heads, bodies & limbs and headdresses, are of ebony. The background is inlaid of pieces of lapis and dark-blue faience - it would appear that the artisan who made it had not sufficient of the one colour glaze.

Close up

Footstool

"Arab-asiatic" phenotype

"Black“ phenotype

You’ll also notice that both men have their hair colored with henna (an afro-asiatic custom).

Henna in ancient Egypt:

Ahmose-Henttimehu 17th Dynasty (1574 B.C.): Henttimehu was probably a daughter of Seqnenre-Taa II and Ahmose-Inhapi. Smith reports that the mummy of Henttimehu own hair had been dyed a bright red at the sides, probably with henna.

G. Elliott Smith, The Royal Mummies, Duckworth Publishing; (September, 2000)